Hostile property tax alert

Posted: Friday, May 23, 2008

If you have not noticed, please take a moment to shock yourself by looking at your most recent borough property tax assessment. It is only going to get worse as the borough has decided to increase their frequency. The most recent reduction of the mill rate seems heroic at first glance, only to realize it is removed from aggressive over-assessments of our family homes and raw property.

I know my freinds in Kenai took notice and rightfully, they called for a meeting to voice their concerns, only to be issued a declarant that "no questions can be asked." In addition, they discovered from that meeting that they would be granted the right to review their assessment but if it was not repealed (by the same people who assessed the property in the first place) they would be charged a fee for this protest! This is intimidation by our government, it is the government talking down to "we the people," and it must stop.

With ever increasing food, gas and medical costs, does it make sense to over-tax private homeowners with the "computerized program" that no one seems to understand. The end result will be people moving out of their homes or defiantly not paying taxes, leaving the Kenai Peninsula as a playground for the rich. Over-taxation is the stuff revolutions are made of.

Perhaps the solution lies in a flat tax or a restructuring of tax codes? While Alaska is struggling to achieve a new age of "transparency" in government, certainly their is no tolerance for the type of disrespect the borough government showed the concerned citizens of Kenai. Apparently that group needs to grow and get much louder. Count me in!

Let the two-way discussions begin, with the end result a positive one for the people raising families and those who have chosen to live our lives out in this great land. We the people and the government officials we elected must begin the grass roots movement to achieve the proper balance of taxation for services.